Pinched Nerve?

[Nicole and Teddy]

Hi everyone! Every now and then Teddy seems to have a thing with his neck. It started happening maybe a year or two ago (he's 5 now) and the latest bout was last night - worst yet. He'll have trouble turning his head to one side or the other and won't look up at me when I'm giving him treats. I talked with the vet about it last year and she gave me a prescription for Carprofen if it flares up. By the time I brought him in that time, it had somewhat subsided, and he's so excitable at the vet anyway he could have a broken leg and still be jumping for attention (yes, this is an ongoing battle!). She did say that it's similar to when we "sleep wrong" or do something else to throw our backs/necks out - very familiar with this with myself unfortunately. Anyhoo, she basically said to keep an eye on it and give him the Carprofen if he seems to be having an episode. Last night not sure how it happened but all of a sudden in the evening he was back to not being able to turn his head a certain way, doing these weird movements with his mouth, and couldn't lay down in a comfortable position. Gave him a pill and googled and found lots of info about pinched nerves in dogs (and lots of other scary stuff, of course). He had a restless night but today seems much better. One of sites said something about Vetriscience Vetridisc (https://www.chewy.com/vetriscience-vetri-disc-joint-health/dp/48739...) as a preventative measure. Anyone have any experience with this with your pups and, if so, any advice? Needless to say it was a rough night worrying about whether he was in pain and could get comfortable or not! Thank you!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, when a dog (or a person) has a pinched nerve, there is something pinching it; if it's in the neck, that would most likely be a cervical disc. That's not something that any supplement or any other product in the entire world can fix. Physical therapy might help, but the way to fix it permanently is surgery.
However, you are putting the cart before the horse. The first thing you have to do in order to treat whatever is wrong is to get a proper diagnosis. Orthopedic and soft tissue issues cannot be diagnosed by a vet exam. It starts with Xrays and goes on up to doing an MRI if necessary. But you can't keep giving him NSAIDS like Carprofen without causing serious digestive issues, and in the meantime, the damage to the nerve will continue to get worse without some kind of intervention. If this has been going on for a year or two, I think it's time to get a reliable diagnosis. If your vet isn't able to do that, you'll need her to refer you to a sepcialist. 
And yes, I have experience with this. JD had a herniated disc with lumbar compression, meaning it was pinching a nerve in his lower back. It caused all kinds of problems as he got older. It affected every other part of his body eventually. We weren't able to do the surgery at the time because of worries about other health issues that had been diagnosed only 10 months earlier; however, if I had it to do over, I would have had the surgery done.  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And please make sure that the sites you are looking at on-line are legitimate, science and fact based sites with information given by people who are qualified to give it, lol. If the site is recommending specific brand name products, it's most likely not reliable. Neither are sites where various pet owners are saying "this worked for me". 

The Vetriscience product may well be a legitimate preventative measure, but if he does in fact have a compressed nerve, the time for preventing something is past. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And now I'm looking back at your past discussions and I see the one about Teddy having IBD. My heart is just sinking here, because this is so much like what happened to JD. IBD diagnosis and the herniated disc diagnosed less than a year later. :(

[Nicole and Teddy]

Are the two linked? Now I am really worried :( Teddy has his annual appointment on Friday. Are there specific questions/referrals I should ask for? Last night's neck incident was the first in a while - maybe 4 - 6 months or so? Am I jumping the gun by thinking it's a compressed nerve/herniated disc? I know I'll need to get the vet's opinion, but what kind of symptoms did JD have?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The two are not linked. But having IBD greatly complicates what you can give them in the way of supplements or meds for the disc issue. 
Knowing Jack's symptoms won;t really mean anything for you because his was in a completely different area of the spine, so everything is different in terms of what kinds of movements it causes or affects.

I do know that an Xray 10 months earlier (done when we were trying to diagnose the IBD) showed something in the lower spine. Vet thought it might be osteoarthritis. And he had no symptoms at all then, but the disc was already herniated. 
I am wondering why your vet hasn't suggested doing an Xray. That's non-invasive and easily done. That's where I would start. Ask her to do an Xray. It will not give you an answer, but it will show if there is anything there that should be further investigated. On JD's Xray, that part of his spine looked solid white. You could see something wasn't right there. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Wait! How is he even on Carprofen with IBD? NSAIDS are almost never given to a dog with IBD, they can cause ulceration of the GI tract and his GI tract is already damaged if he has IBD. 
Was the Carprofen started before the IBD diagnosis? 

[Nicole and Teddy]

Yes, now that I’m looking back at the prescription – it was prescribed in June of last year and he was semi diagnosed with IBD in October of last year. I just had the G.I. panel done and it came back with low levels of B 12 and folic acid. I started a round of the B 12 shots and folic acid and re-tested a few months later and levels were normal. Doc said initial results were consistent with IBD but we Didn’t do the endoscopy to confirm. As per Vet‘s instructions, we also switched to a limited protein diet - Zignature goat – and he’s been doing fine since. Sounds like I should definitely get with Vet on Friday to discuss the medication and his IBD diagnosis and also get her recommendation on pursuing x-rays?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

He's not on any drugs or supplements for IBD? And he's never seen a specialist?

IF there is any chance at all that he does have IBD, he has to be taken off Carprofen and all NSAIDS. To be honest, I doubt very much that he does have IBD, because there is no way that a dog with IBD would be doing fine all this time with no meds, and taking NSAIDS on top of it. So that's probably good news. 

I would definitely talk to the vet about the meds and about doing an Xray of his cervical spine. Personally, I think he should see a specialist, but let's start there. 

[Nicole and Teddy]

No, they prescribed a round of B 12 shots and folic acid for about three months (can’t quite remember how long) for the supposed IBD diagnosis. He did see a specialist twice at the beginning and end of the regimen for the G.I. panel testing and in addition she recommended a novel protein diet- but no further meds were recommended. Since then, he’s only taken the Carprofen yesterday and today. I haven’t noticed any changes in his stool but will keep an eye out. I will definitely ask about all of this at his appointment on Friday. Thank you!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Please keep us posted.